Convertible couch



CONVERTIBLE COUCH Filed Jan. 5, 1939 lar oyf jzffibm 17 i 39 j W M M W5.

Patented Jan. 13, 1942 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 1 Application January 5, 1939, Serial No. 249,463

1 Claim.

novel means for storing the bedding when the construction is not in use as a bed.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a new and improved convertible couch that may be easily and readily adjusted to form a seat, settee or couch or to form a bed without disturbing the mattress or moving the mainframe to or from the wall.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of a new and improved convertible couch that may be easily and readilyconverted from a couch or seat into a bed, that is composed of few moving parts, and is efiicient in use.

Other and further objects and advantages of the invention will appear from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing in which Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the couch;

Fig. 2 is a transverse vertical section showing the backrest in lowered position;

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2 but showing the backrest in elevated position, with the parts arranged to be used as a bed; and

Fig. 4 is a transverse section of a modified form of construction.

In the construction or building of apartments intended to accommodatefamilies of moderate circumstances, the high cost of materials and labor necessitates the construction not only of suites of few rooms but the rooms themselves must be greatly restricted in floor space, else the rents will be too high to attract tenants of moderate circumstances. With rooms of limited floor space, it is desirable that the furniture for the rooms be so constructedthat a maximum of free floor space is available after the furniture has been positioned within the rooms.

There are certain articles of furniture that are indispensible for living quarters such as beds, couches, lounges or the like used for sleeping purposes. Likewise, in hotels the rooms or suites must be supplied with beds, or the like. In single rooms, unless they b unusually large, a bed occupies a considerable portion of the room and is as a rule a useless piece of furniture except at night. If the occupant of a hotel room has guests call on him, either on business or socially, the room is crowded very much due to the fact that the bed occupies a larg proportion of the floor space.

It has been proposed to employ bed or couch structures that fold into a closet or opening in the wall but such structures are difiicult to make down into beds and usually requires the services of a servant or maid. Other types are in the form that may be converted into a couch for daytime use or into a bed for sleeping but such structures are more or less complicated and must be moved away from the wall before converting them into beds. Certain types of such structures when in use as seats have no backs or the seat portions are so wide that even if they have backs, they cannot be used as such. Furthermore, the mattresses are usually foldable along a longitudinal line so that portions of the mattress or pad may be moved upwardly at an angle to the remaining portion to form a back rest or downwardly to form the rear of the bed. Such structures are objectionable because when the couch is used as a bed, the hinge line of the mattress sections is more or less uncomfortable because it constitutes a break in the continuity of the main portion of the mattress.

The present invention seeks to remedy these difiiculties by the provision of a new and improved couch-like construction which may be readily converted into a couch or lounge for daytime use or as a bed for nighttime use without the necessity of moving the construction toward or away from the wall. The mattress is a unitary structure and is not disturbed in'converting the couch into a bed.

Referring now to the drawing, the reference character l0 designates the couch-like structure which, for convenience of description may be referred to as a couch or convertible couch. The couch comprises a frame ll having a front wall l2, end walls IS, a back wall l4 and a bottom wall or mattress support 15. The frame I I may be,

and preferably is, supported on short legs or feet. IS. The frame H is in the form of a container for receiving suitable cushions or mattresses and suitable supporting springs.

In the form of the construction shown, which is by way of example only, box springs or spring assembly shown diagrammatically at I! is supported in the container and a mattress 18 which may be of the inner spring type, if desired, rests on the spring assembly. The parts are of such dimensions that the lower portion of the mattress is within the container so that the frame serves as means for positioning the mattress on the spring assembly and incidentally adds to the appearance of the couch in that it appears to be fixed to the frame constituting therewith a unitary structure.

The mattress l8 conforms to the inner dimensions of the container and is of substantially the dimensions of a conventional half-bed. The

mattress is a unitary structure and when used as a bed has all the comfort of a bed mattress.

Suitable means are provided whereby the couch may be converted into a lounge or seat with a backrest, and having the comfort of a settee or sofa, or into a bed with the comforts of a conventional bed, as occasion may require.

In the form of the article selected to illustrate one embodiment of the invention, the back wall I4 is provided with an extension or rather is extended upwardly as at l9 and a one piece backrest 2| is hinged as at 22 to the upper edge of this extension. The hinge may be of any suitable type, that shown being the piano type of hinge.

The backrest is adapted to be held in its elevated or upper position by a suitable jointed brace 23 pivoted as at 24 to the backrest and at 25 to one end wall of the frame H. Only one brace is necessary. It is so constructed that it is self-locking in extended position and may be of the type employed on carriage tops or any other well known self-locking joint type of brace.

The backrest has its wall so shaped or inclined as to form a comfortable backrest when in lowered position. As shown, this wall extends upwardly and slightly rearwardly from the mattress l8 as at 26 and is curved rearwardly as at 21. A plate or finishing bar 28 is secured to the top of the backrest and when the rest is in lowered position, is flush with the back wall and gives the structure a finished appearance.

The horizontal portion 21 of the wall of the backrest is of such length that the rest is spaced By thus spacing the inclined portion of the backrest from the back wall I4, considerable space is provided between this inclined portion and the back Wall I4 of the frame II. This space is utilized as a receptacle for storing bedding 29 such as pillows, blankets, sheets and the like when the couch is being used as a seat or settee. The ends of this receptacle are closed in any suitable manner. In the form shown, the rear portions of the end walls l3 of the frame have extensions or are extended upwardly as at 3| and have their forward edges curved as at 32. The backrest has end walls or end wall segments 33 in the planes of the end walls l3. The wall segments 33 are curved on their under surfaces as at 34 to conform to the curvature of the end walls l3.

A ledge 35 is provided on each end wall I3 for receiving the lower end of the backrest as clearly shown in Fig. l of the drawing. While in the construction shown in Figs. 1 to 3, the end walls of the receptacle are in sections, one section on the backrest and the other on the end wall l3 of the frame II, it is understood that it may be a unitary structure on either the backrest or on the side wall [3.

When it is desired to use the couch as a bed, it is only necessary to elevate the backrest 2| which will be held in its elevated position by the brace thus exposing the bedding such as pillows, sheets and blankets which may be applied to the mattress the same as a single bed and the conversion is complete. It is not necessary to move the couch as the rearward extension of the rest does not protrude a sufficient distance to engage the wall since the floor or washboard and finishing strip by its engagement with the legs or feet of the couch hold the back of the couch spaced from the room Wall.

It will thus be seen that a hotel or other guest may, if he desires, readily and easily make the conversion without the necessity of disturbing anyone.

In the form of the construction shown in Fig. 4, the lower portion of the frame 36 corresponds to the frame l3 of the form of the construction shown in Figs. 1 to 3 and has a receptacle for receiving the box spring I! and the mattress 18 as in the previous construction.

The back wall 31 has an upward extension 38 which is in the form of a segment of a circle and each of the end members 39 has an upward extention 4| which is attached to the extension 38 and has a curved upper edge. The extensions 4| are each provided with a groove 42 for receiving the end edges of a backrest 43 which is adapted to travel in said groove. The backrest 43 may be slid to its forward and downward position as shown in Fig. 4 in which position it is used as a backrest for a settee or couch and in this position, the backrest 43 and the back extension 38 cooperate to provide a receptacle 44 for receiving the bedding 29. When the couch is used as a seat, a suitable sofa or other pillow J35 may be employed to add to the comfort of the user in the conventional manner. When it is desired to use the couch as a bed, the backrest 43 is slid around the groove 42 until it nests with the back extension 38.

In making the conversion from a seat or couch into a bed, it is merely necessary to move the back rest around the grooves to its inoperative position and make up the bed in the usual manner.

While the backrest is shown as being a rigid structure, it is evident it may be flexible like the closure of a roll top desk and that such a flexible structure could be caused to travel down vertical grooves in alinement with the back when moved to inoperative position, if desired.

It is thought from the foregoing, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, that the construction and operation of my device will be apparent to those skilled in the art and that changes in size, shape, proportion and detail may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the appended claim.

I claim as my invention:

In a couch-like structure, a frame comprising a container having end, front and back walls, said back wall being extended upwardly above the front wall, a mattress in said container and extending above the upper edge of the front wall and of a length and width but slightly less than said frame, arm members extending upward from the rear portion of said end walls, a one piece backrest movably connected to said back wall by butt hinge means, said rest having top, end and front walls rigidly connected together, said last named front Wall extending down to said mattress when in operative position, and the end walls of said backrest resting on and flush with the end walls of said frame, said backrest cooperating with said mattress and with said back wall and the arms of said frame to form a receptacle for containing bedding, and a hinged sectional brace foldable into said container when said rest is in lowered position for holding said rest in inoperative position when said structure is used as a bed.

LEROY J. STEFFEN. 

